Ok, so if to tell you only one thing about this weird time-capsuled Caribbean island known as Cuba then it must be their car-market. I mean its still full of soviet cars that immediately call back to my early childhood when I too got to experience the life under a warm and comfy soviet dictatorship. Albeit I do not remember ever having any Mangoes or Plantains on my plate or getting anywhere near as good a tan.
Kidding.
According to some credible statistics the rate of car ownership among Cubans is 20 per 1000 people. Or in other words quite scarce in terms of the rest of the world considering that there a re more than 11 million people living on that mostly sunny with a chance of monsoon island. Owning a car means to own it for the rest of your life. Or at least this motto is pretty much remained in tact since Mr. Castro and his army of visionary socialists took over the governing duties from the filthy capitalists somewhere around 1959.
After the revolution all purchases of cars whether old or new were banned although technically the cars continued to change hands through black market, while the ownership did not. However in order to get a new car you had to serve the government in some glorious capacity. High-ranking workers, artists, doctors, diplomats and athletes seemed to get in front of the ever-growing demand queue. And yes, this queue is still growing strong although since 2013 the trading of cars has once again been allowed.
First issue is their completely bonkers price logic. There seems to be no difference in the value for new or old/used cars. And yes, that includes also those eye-catching American luxury sedans of the 1950's that through the local mechanics pure engineering ingenuity still continue to roam the streets and highways. But that's the logical part. What is totally out of proportion with the rest of the world is the pricing that tends to be ten times higher than for example in the neighboring US of A.
So the Cubans must be rich?
No.
In order to buy a new Kia Picanto from a state controlled dealership for example an average Cuban has to work at least 150 years without spending any dime in the meantime.
So when the Cuban government imports new cars they have to pay in hard currency such as USD or EUR. But when the car is being sold they would receive local currency (CUC) that outside the island holds only sentimental value. Hard currency comes to the island mainly via tourists who exchange their cash in local government controlled banks. The local entrepreneurs who are providing all kinds of imaginable as well as unimaginable services to those tourists would be able to earn enough hard and/or local currency to be able to purchase a new car.
While the government has to maintain a certain level of inventory at its stores in order to get locals and foreigners to trade in hard currency for local currency, it can't afford to sell large volumes of imported items and constantly restock its supplies. Otherwise the government would run out of its scarce foreign reserves very quickly.
Boom
